Records of a Family of Engineers by Robert Louis Stevenson

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The river was to me a pretty and various spectacle; I could notsee--I could not be made to see--it otherwise. To my father it wasa chequer-board of lively forces, which he traced from pool toshallow with minute appreciation and enduring interest. 'That bankwas being under-cut,' he might say. 'Why? Suppose you were to puta groin out here, would not the filum fluminis be cast abruptly offacross the channel? and where would it impinge upon the othershore? and what would be the result? Or suppose you were to blastthat boulder, what would happen? Follow it--use the eyes God hasgiven you--can you not see that a great deal of land would bereclaimed upon this side?' It was to me like school in holidays;but to him, until I had worn him out with my invincible triviality,a delight. Thus he pored over the engineer's voluminous handy-bookof nature; thus must, too, have pored my grand-father and uncles.

But it is of the essence of this knowledge, or this knack of mind,to be largely incommunicable. 'It cannot be imparted to another,'says my father. The verbal casting-net is thrown in vain overthese evanescent, inferential relations. Hence the insignificanceof much engineering literature. So far as the science can bereduced to formulas or diagrams, the book is to the point; so faras the art depends on intimate study of the ways of nature, theauthor's words will too often be found vapid. This fact--thatengineering looks one way, and literature another--was what mygrand-father overlooked. All his life long, his pen was in hishand, piling up a treasury of knowledge, preparing himself againstall possible contingencies. Scarce anything fell under his noticebut he perceived in it some relation to his work, and chronicled itin the pages of his journal in his always lucid, but sometimesinexact and wordy, style. The Travelling Diary (so he called it)was kept in fascicles of ruled paper, which were at last bound up,rudely indexed, and put by for future reference. Such volumes ashave reached me contain a surprising medley: the whole details ofhis employment in the Northern Lights and his general practice; thewhole biography of an enthusiastic engineer. Much of it is usefuland curious; much merely otiose; and much can only be described asan attempt to impart that which cannot be imparted in words. Ofsuch are his repeated and heroic descriptions of reefs; monumentsof misdirected literary energy, which leave upon the mind of thereader no effect but that of a multiplicity of words and thesuggested vignette of a lusty old gentleman scrambling amongtangle. It is to be remembered that he came to engineering whileyet it was in the egg and without a library, and that he saw thebounds of that profession widen daily. He saw iron ships,steamers, and the locomotive engine, introduced. He lived totravel from Glasgow to Edinburgh in the inside of a forenoon, andto remember that he himself had 'often been twelve hours upon thejourney, and his grand-father (Lillie) two days'! The professionwas still but in its second generation, and had already broken downthe barriers of time and space. Who should set a limit to itsfuture encroachments? And hence, with a kind of sanguine pedantry,he pursued his design of 'keeping up with the day' and postinghimself and his family on every mortal subject. Of thisunpractical idealism we shall meet with many instances; there wasnot a trade, and scarce an accomplishment, but he thought it shouldform part of the outfit of an engineer; and not content withkeeping an encyclopaedic diary himself, he would fain have set allhis sons to work continuing and extending it. They were morehappily inspired. My father's engineering pocket-book was not abulky volume; with its store of pregnant notes and vital formulas,it served him through life, and was not yet filled when he came todie. As for Robert Stevenson and the Travelling Diary, I should beungrateful to complain, for it has supplied me with many livelytraits for this and subsequent chapters; but I must still remembermuch of the period of my study there as a sojourn in the Valley ofthe Shadow.

The duty of the engineer is twofold--to design the work, and to seethe work done. We have seen already something of the vociferousthoroughness of the man, upon the cleaning of lamps and thepolishing of reflectors. In building, in road-making, in theconstruction of bridges, in every detail and byway of hisemployments, he pursued the same ideal. Perfection (with a capitalP and violently under-scored) was his design. A crack for apenknife, the waste of 'six-and-thirty shillings,' 'the loss of aday or a tide,' in each of these he saw and was revolted by thefinger of the sloven; and to spirits intense as his, and immersedin vital undertakings, the slovenly is the dishonest, and wastedtime is instantly translated into lives endangered. On thisconsistent idealism there is but one thing that now and thentrenches with a touch of incongruity, and that is his love of thepicturesque. As when he laid out a road on Hogarth's line ofbeauty; bade a foreman be careful, in quarrying, not 'to disfigurethe island'; or regretted in a report that 'the great stone, calledthe Devil in the Hole, was blasted or broken down to make road-metal, and for other purposes of the work.'

CHAPTER III: THE BUILDING OF THE BELL ROCK

Off the mouths of the Tay and the Forth, thirteen miles fromFifeness, eleven from Arbroath, and fourteen from the Red Head ofAngus, lies the Inchcape or Bell Rock. It extends to a length ofabout fourteen hundred feet, but the part of it discovered at lowwater to not more than four hundred and twenty-seven. At a littlemore than half-flood in fine weather the seamless ocean joins overthe reef, and at high-water springs it is buried sixteen feet. Asthe tide goes down, the higher reaches of the rock are seen to beclothed by Conferva rupestris as by a sward of grass; upon the moreexposed edges, where the currents are most swift and the breach ofthe sea heaviest, Baderlock or Henware flourishes; and the greatTangle grows at the depth of several fathoms with luxuriance.Before man arrived, and introduced into the silence of the sea thesmoke and clangour of a blacksmith's shop, it was a favouriteresting-place of seals. The crab and lobster haunt in thecrevices; and limpets, mussels, and the white buckie abound.

According to a tradition, a bell had been once hung upon this rockby an abbot of Arbroath, {91a} 'and being taken down by a sea-pirate, a year thereafter he perished upon the same rock, with shipand goods, in the righteous judgment of God.' From the days of theabbot and the sea-pirate no man had set foot upon the Inchcape,save fishers from the neighbouring coast, or perhaps--for a moment,before the surges swallowed them--the unfortunate victims ofshipwreck. The fishers approached the rock with an extremetimidity; but their harvest appears to have been great, and theadventure no more perilous than lucrative. In 1800, on theoccasion of my grandfather's first landing, and during the two orthree hours which the ebb-tide and the smooth water allowed them topass upon its shelves, his crew collected upwards of twohundredweight of old metal: pieces of a kedge anchor and a cabinstove, crowbars, a hinge and lock of a door, a ship's marking-iron,a piece of a ship's caboose, a soldier's bayonet, a cannon ball,several pieces of money, a shoe-buckle, and the like. Such werethe spoils of the Bell Rock.

From 1794 onward, the mind of my grandfather had been exercisedwith the idea of a light upon this formidable danger. To build atower on a sea rock, eleven miles from shore, and barely uncoveredat low water of neaps, appeared a fascinating enterprise. It wassomething yet unattempted, unessayed; and even now, after it hasbeen lighted for more than eighty years, it is still an exploitthat has never been repeated. {92a} My grandfather was, besides,but a young man, of an experience comparatively restricted, and areputation confined to Scotland; and when he prepared his firstmodels, and exhibited them in Merchants' Hall, he can hardly beacquitted of audacity. John Clerk of Eldin stood his friend fromthe beginning, kept the key of the model room, to which he carried'eminent strangers,' and found words of counsel and encouragementbeyond price. 'Mr. Clerk had been personally known to Smeaton, andused occasionally to speak of him to me,' says my grandfather; andagain: 'I felt regret that I had not the opportunity of a greaterrange of practice to fit me for such an undertaking; but I wasfortified by an expression of my friend Mr. Clerk in one of ourconversations. "This work," said he, "is unique, and can be littleforwarded by experience of ordinary masonic operations. In thiscase Smeaton's 'Narrative' must be the text-book, and energy andperseverance the pratique."'

A Bill for the work was introduced into Parliament and lost in theLords in 1802-3. John Rennie was afterwards, at my grandfather'ssuggestion, called in council, with the style of chief engineer.The precise meaning attached to these words by any of the partiesappears irrecoverable. Chief engineer should have full authority,full responsibility, and a proper share of the emoluments; andthere were none of these for Rennie. I find in an appendix a paperwhich resumes the controversy on this subject; and it will beenough to say here that Rennie did not design the Bell Rock, thathe did not execute it, and that he was not paid for it. {94a} Fromso much of the correspondence as has come down to me, theacquaintance of this man, eleven years his senior, and alreadyfamous, appears to have been both useful and agreeable to RobertStevenson. It is amusing to find my grandfather seeking high andlow for a brace of pistols which his colleague had lost by the waybetween Aberdeen and Edinburgh; and writing to Messrs. Dollond, 'Ihave not thought it necessary to trouble Mr. Rennie with thisorder, but I BEG YOU WILL SEE TO GET TWO MINUTES OF HIM AS HEPASSES YOUR DOOR'--a proposal calculated rather from the latitudeof Edinburgh than from London, even in 1807. It is pretty, too, toobserve with what affectionate regard Smeaton was held in mind byhis immediate successors. 'Poor old fellow,' writes Rennie toStevenson, 'I hope he will now and then take a peep at us, andinspire you with fortitude and courage to brave all difficultiesand dangers to accomplish a work which will, if successful,immortalise you in the annals of fame.' The style might bebettered, but the sentiment is charming.

Smeaton was, indeed, the patron saint of the Bell Rock. Undeterredby the sinister fate of Winstanley, he had tackled and solved theproblem of the Eddystone; but his solution had not been in allrespects perfect. It remained for my grand-father to outdo him indaring, by applying to a tidal rock those principles which had beenalready justified by the success of the Eddystone, and to perfectthe model by more than one exemplary departure. Smeaton hadadopted in his floors the principle of the arch; each thereforeexercised an outward thrust upon the walls, which must be met andcombated by embedded chains. My grandfather's flooring-stones, onthe other hand, were flat, made part of the outer wall, and werekeyed and dovetailed into a central stone, so as to bind the worktogether and be positive elements of strength. In 1703 Winstanleystill thought it possible to erect his strange pagoda, with itsopen gallery, its florid scrolls and candlesticks: like a richman's folly for an ornamental water in a park. Smeaton followed;then Stevenson in his turn corrected such flaws as were left inSmeaton's design; and with his improvements, it is not too much tosay the model was made perfect. Smeaton and Stevenson had betweenthem evolved and finished the sea-tower. No subsequent builder hasdeparted in anything essential from the principles of their design.It remains, and it seems to us as though it must remain for ever,an ideal attained. Every stone in the building, it may interestthe reader to know, my grandfather had himself cut out in themodel; and the manner in which the courses were fitted, joggled,trenailed, wedged, and the bond broken, is intricate as a puzzleand beautiful by ingenuity.

In 1806 a second Bill passed both Houses, and the preliminary workswere at once begun. The same year the Navy had taken a greatharvest of prizes in the North Sea, one of which, a Prussianfishing dogger, flat-bottomed and rounded at the stem and stern,was purchased to be a floating lightship, and re-named the Pharos.By July 1807 she was overhauled, rigged for her new purpose, andturned into the lee of the Isle of May. 'It was proposed that thewhole party should meet in her and pass the night; but she rolledfrom side to side in so extraordinary a manner, that even the mostseahardy fled. It was humorously observed of this vessel that shewas in danger of making a round turn and appearing with her keeluppermost; and that she would even turn a half-penny if laid upondeck.' By two o'clock on the morning of the 15th July thispurgatorial vessel was moored by the Bell Rock.

A sloop of forty tons had been in the meantime built at Leith, andnamed the Smeaton; by the 7th of August my grandfather set sail inher -

'carrying with him Mr. Peter Logan, foreman builder, and fiveartificers selected from their having been somewhat accustomed tothe sea, the writer being aware of the distressing trial which thefloating light would necessarily inflict upon landsmen from herrolling motion. Here he remained till the 10th, and, as theweather was favourable, a landing was effected daily, when theworkmen were employed in cutting the large seaweed from the sitesof the lighthouse and beacon, which were respectively traced withpickaxes upon the rock. In the meantime the crew of the Smeatonwas employed in laying down the several sets of moorings withinabout half a mile of the rock for the convenience of vessels. Theartificers, having, fortunately, experienced moderate weather,returned to the workyard of Arbroath with a good report of theirtreatment afloat; when their comrades ashore began to feel someanxiety to see a place of which they had heard so much, and tochange the constant operations with the iron and mallet in theprocess of hewing for an occasional tide's work on the rock, whichthey figured to themselves as a state of comparative ease andcomfort.'

I am now for many pages to let my grandfather speak for himself,and tell in his own words the story of his capital achievement.The tall quarto of 533 pages from which the following narrative hasbeen dug out is practically unknown to the general reader, yet goodjudges have perceived its merit, and it has been named (withflattering wit) 'The Romance of Stone and Lime' and 'The RobinsonCrusoe of Civil Engineering.' The tower was but four years in thebuilding; it took Robert Stevenson, in the midst of his manyavocations, no less than fourteen to prepare the Account. Thetitle-page is a solid piece of literature of upwards of a hundredwords; the table of contents runs to thirteen pages; and thededication (to that revered monarch, George IV) must have cost himno little study and correspondence. Walter Scott was called incouncil, and offered one miscorrection which still blots the page.In spite of all this pondering and filing, there remain pages noteasy to construe, and inconsistencies not easy to explain away. Ihave sought to make these disappear, and to lighten a little thebaggage with which my grandfather marches; here and there I haverejointed and rearranged a sentence, always with his own words, andall with a reverent and faithful hand; and I offer here to thereader the true Monument of Robert Stevenson with a little of themoss removed from the inscription, and the Portrait of the artistwith some superfluous canvas cut away.

I--OPERATIONS OF 1807

[Sunday, 16th Aug.]

Everything being arranged for sailing to the rock on Saturday the15th, the vessel might have proceeded on the Sunday; butunderstanding that this would not be so agreeable to the artificersit was deferred until Monday. Here we cannot help observing thatthe men allotted for the operations at the rock seemed to enterupon the undertaking with a degree of consideration which fullymarked their opinion as to the hazardous nature of the undertakingon which they were about to enter. They went in a body to churchon Sunday, and whether it was in the ordinary course, or designedfor the occasion, the writer is not certain, but the service was,in many respects, suitable to their circumstances.

[Monday, 17th Aug.]

The tide happening to fall late in the evening of Monday the 17th,the party, counting twenty-four in number, embarked on board of theSmeaton about ten o'clock p.m., and sailed from Arbroath with agentle breeze at west. Our ship's colours having been flying allday in compliment to the commencement of the work, the othervessels in the harbour also saluted, which made a very gayappearance. A number of the friends and acquaintances of those onboard having been thus collected, the piers, though at a late hour,were perfectly crowded, and just as the Smeaton cleared theharbour, all on board united in giving three hearty cheers, whichwere returned by those on shore in such good earnest, that, in thestill of the evening, the sound must have been heard in all partsof the town, re-echoing from the walls and lofty turrets of thevenerable Abbey of Aberbrothwick. The writer felt muchsatisfaction at the manner of this parting scene, though he mustown that the present rejoicing was, on his part, mingled withoccasional reflections upon the responsibility of his situation,which extended to the safety of all who should be engaged in thisperilous work. With such sensations he retired to his cabin; butas the artificers were rather inclined to move about the deck thanto remain in their confined berths below, his repose was transient,and the vessel being small every motion was necessarily heard.Some who were musically inclined occasionally sung; but he listenedwith peculiar pleasure to the sailor at the helm, who hummed overDibdin's characteristic air:-

'They say there's a Providence sits up aloft,To keep watch for the life of poor Jack.'

[Tuesday, 18th Aug.]

The weather had been very gentle all night, and, about four in themorning of the 18th, the Smeaton anchored. Agreeably to anarranged plan of operations, all hands were called at five o'clocka.m., just as the highest part of the Bell Rock began to show itssable head among the light breakers, which occasionally whitenedwith the foaming sea. The two boats belonging to the floatinglight attended the Smeaton, to carry the artificers to the rock, asher boat could only accommodate about six or eight sitters. Everyone was more eager than his neighbour to leap into the boats and itrequired a good deal of management on the part of the coxswains toget men unaccustomed to a boat to take their places for rowing andat the same time trimming her properly. The landing-master andforeman went into one boat, while the writer took charge ofanother, and steered it to and from the rock. This became the morenecessary in the early stages of the work, as places could not bespared for more than two, or at most three seamen to each boat, whowere always stationed, one at the bow, to use the boat-hook infending or pushing off, and the other at the aftermost oar, to givethe proper time in rowing, while the middle oars were double-banked, and rowed by the artificers.

As the weather was extremely fine, with light airs of wind from theeast, we landed without difficulty upon the central part of therock at half-past five, but the water had not yet sufficiently leftit for commencing the work. This interval, however, did not passunoccupied. The first and last of all the principal operations atthe Bell Rock were accompanied by three hearty cheers from allhands, and, on occasions like the present, the steward of the shipattended, when each man was regaled with a glass of rum. As thewater left the rock about six, some began to bore the holes for thegreat bats or holdfasts, for fixing the beams of the Beacon-house,while the smith was fully attended in laying out the site of hisforge, upon a somewhat sheltered spot of the rock, which alsorecommended itself from the vicinity of a pool of water fortempering his irons. These preliminary steps occupied about anhour, and as nothing further could be done during this tide towardsfixing the forge, the workmen gratified their curiosity by roamingabout the rock, which they investigated with great eagerness tillthe tide overflowed it. Those who had been sick picked dulse(Fucus palmatus), which they ate with much seeming appetite; otherswere more intent upon collecting limpets for bait, to enjoy theamusement of fishing when they returned on board of the vessel.Indeed, none came away empty-handed, as everything found upon theBell Rock was considered valuable, being connected with someinteresting association. Several coins, and numerous bits ofshipwrecked iron, were picked up, of almost every description; and,in particular, a marking-iron lettered JAMES--a circumstance ofwhich it was thought proper to give notice to the public, as itmight lead to the knowledge of some unfortunate shipwreck, perhapsunheard of till this simple occurrence led to the discovery. Whenthe rock began to be overflowed, the landing-master arranged thecrews of the respective boats, appointing twelve persons to each.According to a rule which the writer had laid down to himself, hewas always the last person who left the rock.

In a short time the Bell Rock was laid completely under water, andthe weather being extremely fine, the sea was so smooth that itsplace could not be pointed out from the appearance of the surface--a circumstance which sufficiently demonstrates the dangerous natureof this rock, even during the day, and in the smoothest and calmeststate of the sea. During the interval between the morning and theevening tides, the artificers were variously employed in fishingand reading; others were busy in drying and adjusting their wetclothes, and one or two amused their companions with the violin andGerman flute.

About seven in the evening the signal bell for landing on the rockwas again rung, when every man was at his quarters. In thisservice it was thought more appropriate to use the bell than toPIPE to quarters, as the use of this instrument is less known tothe mechanic than the sound of the bell. The landing, as in themorning, was at the eastern harbour. During this tide the seaweedwas pretty well cleared from the site of the operations, and alsofrom the tracks leading to the different landing-places; forwalking upon the rugged surface of the Bell Rock, when covered withseaweed, was found to be extremely difficult and even dangerous.Every hand that could possibly be occupied now employed inassisting the smith to fit up the apparatus for his forge. At 9p.m. the boats returned to the tender, after other two hours' work,in the same order as formerly--perhaps as much gratified with thesuccess that attended the work of this day as with any other in thewhole course of the operations. Although it could not he said thatthe fatigues of this day had been great, yet all on board retiredearly to rest. The sea being calm, and no movement on deck, it waspretty generally remarked in the morning that the bell awakened thegreater number on board from their first sleep; and though thisobservation was not altogether applicable to the writer himself,yet he was not a little pleased to find that thirty people couldall at once become so reconciled to a night's quarters within a fewhundred paces of the Bell Rock.

[Wednesday, 19th Aug.]

Being extremely anxious at this time to get forward with fixing thesmith's forge, on which the progress of the work at presentdepended, the writer requested that he might be called at daybreakto learn the landing-master's opinion of the weather from theappearance of the rising sun, a criterion by which experiencedseamen can generally judge pretty accurately of the state of theweather for the following day. About five o'clock, on coming upondeck, the sun's upper limb or disc had just begun to appear as ifrising from the ocean, and in less than a minute he was seen in thefullest splendour; but after a short interval he was enveloped in asoft cloudy sky, which was considered emblematical of fine weather.His rays had not yet sufficiently dispelled the clouds which hidthe land from view, and the Bell Rock being still overflowed, thewhole was one expanse of water. This scene in itself was highlygratifying; and, when the morning bell was tolled, we weregratified with the happy forebodings of good weather and theexpectation of having both a morning and an evening tide's work onthe rock.

The boat which the writer steered happened to be the last whichapproached the rock at this tide; and, in standing up in the stern,while at some distance, to see how the leading boat entered thecreek, he was astonished to observe something in the form of ahuman figure, in a reclining posture, upon one of the ledges of therock. He immediately steered the boat through a narrow entrance tothe eastern harbour, with a thousand unpleasant sensations in hismind. He thought a vessel or boat must have been wrecked upon therock during the night; and it seemed probable that the rock mightbe strewed with dead bodies, a spectacle which could not fail todeter the artificers from returning so freely to their work. Inthe midst of these reveries the boat took the ground at an improperlanding-place; but, without waiting to push her off, he leapt uponthe rock, and making his way hastily to the spot which hadprivately given him alarm, he had the satisfaction to ascertainthat he had only been deceived by the peculiar situation and aspectof the smith's anvil and block, which very completely representedthe appearance of a lifeless body upon the rock. The writercarefully suppressed his feelings, the simple mention of whichmight have had a bad effect upon the artificers, and his hastepassed for an anxiety to examine the apparatus of the smith'sforge, left in an unfinished state at evening tide.

In the course of this morning's work two or three apparentlydistant peals of thunder were heard, and the atmosphere suddenlybecame thick and foggy. But as the Smeaton, our present tender,was moored at no great distance from the rock, the crew on boardcontinued blowing with a horn, and occasionally fired a musket, sothat the boats got to the ship without difficulty.

[Thursday, 20th Aug.]

The wind this morning inclined from the north-east, and the sky hada heavy and cloudy appearance, but the sea was smooth, though therewas an undulating motion on, the surface, which indicated easterlywinds, and occasioned a slight surf upon the rock. But the boatsfound no difficulty in landing at the western creek at half-pastseven, and, after a good tide's work, left it again about a quarterfrom eleven. In the evening the artificers landed at half-pastseven, and continued till half-past eight, having completed thefixing of the smith's forge, his vice, and a wooden board or bench,which were also batted to a ledge of the rock, to the great joy ofall, under a salute of three hearty cheers. From an oversight onthe part of the smith, who had neglected to bring his tinder-boxand matches from the vessel, the work was prevented from beingcontinued for at least an hour longer.

The smith's shop was, of course, in OPEN SPACE: the large bellowswere carried to and from the rock every tide, for the serviceablecondition of which, together with the tinder-box, fuel, and embersof the former fire, the smith was held responsible. Those who havebeen placed in situations to feel the inconveniency and want ofthis useful artisan, will be able to appreciate his value in a caselike the present. It often happened, to our annoyance anddisappointment, in the early state of the work, when the smith wasin the middle of a FAVOURITE HEAT in making some useful article, orin sharpening the tools, after the flood-tide had obliged thepickmen to strike work, a sea would come rolling over the rocks,dash out the fire, and endanger his indispensable implement, thebellows. If the sea was smooth, while the smith often stood atwork knee-deep in water, the tide rose by imperceptible degrees,first cooling the exterior of the fireplace, or hearth, and thenquietly blackening and extinguishing the fire from below. Thewriter has frequently been amused at the perplexing anxiety of theblacksmith when coaxing his fire and endeavouring to avert theeffects of the rising tide.

[Friday, 21st Aug.]

Everything connected with the forge being now completed, theartificers found no want of sharp tools, and the work went forwardwith great alacrity and spirit. It was also alleged that the rockhad a more habitable appearance from the volumes of smoke whichascended from the smith's shop and the busy noise of his anvil, theoperations of the masons, the movements of the boats, and shippingat a distance--all contributed to give life and activity to thescene. This noise and traffic had, however, the effect of almostcompletely banishing the herd of seals which had hithertofrequented the rock as a resting-place during the period of lowwater. The rock seemed to be peculiarly adapted to their habits,for, excepting two or three days at neap-tides, a part of it alwaysdries at low water--at least, during the summer season--and asthere was good fishing-ground in the neighbourhood, without a humanbeing to disturb or molest them, it had become a very favouriteresidence of these amphibious animals, the writer havingoccasionally counted from fifty to sixty playing about the rock ata time. But when they came to be disturbed every tide, and theirseclusion was broken in upon by the kindling of great fires,together with the beating of hammers and picks during low water,after hovering about for a time, they changed their place, andseldom more than one or two were to be seen about the rock upon themore detached outlayers which dry partially, whence they seemed tolook with that sort of curiosity which is observable in theseanimals when following a boat.

[Saturday, 22nd Aug.]

Hitherto the artificers had remained on board the Smeaton, whichwas made fast to one of the mooring buoys at a distance only ofabout a quarter of a mile from the rock, and, of course, a verygreat conveniency to the work. Being so near, the seamen couldnever be mistaken as to the progress of the tide, or state of thesea upon the rock, nor could the boats be much at a loss to pull onboard of the vessel during fog, or even in very rough weather; asshe could be cast loose from her moorings at pleasure, and broughtto the lee side of the rock. But the Smeaton being only aboutforty register tons, her accommodations were extremely limited. Itmay, therefore, be easily imagined that an addition of twenty-fourpersons to her own crew must have rendered the situation of thoseon board rather uncomfortable. The only place for the men'shammocks on board being in the hold, they were unavoidably muchcrowded: and if the weather had required the hatches to befastened down, so great a number of men could not possibly havebeen accommodated. To add to this evil, the co-boose or cooking-place being upon deck, it would not have been possible to havecooked for so large a company in the event of bad weather.

The stock of water was now getting short, and some necessariesbeing also wanted for the floating light, the Smeaton wasdespatched for Arbroath; and the writer, with the artificers at thesame time shifted their quarters from her to the floating light.

Although the rock barely made its appearance at this period of thetides till eight o'clock, yet, having now a full mile to row fromthe floating light to the rock, instead of about a quarter of amile from the moorings of the Smeaton, it was necessary to beearlier astir, and to form different arrangements; breakfast wasaccordingly served up at seven o'clock this morning. From theexcessive motion of the floating light, the writer had lookedforward rather with anxiety to the removal of the workmen to thisship. Some among them, who had been congratulating themselves uponhaving become sea-hardy while on board the Smeaton, had a completerelapse upon returning to the floating light. This was the casewith the writer. From the spacious and convenient berthage of thefloating light, the exchange to the artificers was, in thisrespect, much for the better. The boats were also commodious,measuring sixteen feet in length on the keel, so that, in fineweather, their complement of sitters was sixteen persons for each,with which, however, they were rather crowded, but she could notstow two boats of larger dimensions. When there was what is calleda breeze of wind, and a swell in the sea, the proper number foreach boat could not, with propriety, be rated at more than twelvepersons.

When the tide-bell rung the boats were hoisted out, and two activeseamen were employed to keep them from receiving damage alongside.The floating light being very buoyant, was so quick in her motionsthat when those who were about to step from her gunwale into aboat, placed themselves upon a cleat or step on the ship's side,with the man or rail ropes in their hands, they had often to waitfor some time till a favourable opportunity occurred for steppinginto the boat. While in this situation, with the vessel rollingfrom side to side, watching the proper time for letting go the man-ropes, it required the greatest dexterity and presence of mind toleap into the boats. One who was rather awkward would often wait aconsiderable period in this position: at one time his side of theship would be so depressed that he would touch the boat to which hebelonged, while the next sea would elevate him so much that hewould see his comrades in the boat on the opposite side of theship, his friends in the one boat calling to him to 'Jump,' whilethose in the boat on the other side, as he came again and againinto their view, would jocosely say, 'Are you there yet? You seemto enjoy a swing.' In this situation it was common to see a personupon each side of the ship for a length of time, waiting to quithis hold.

On leaving the rock to-day a trial of seamanship was proposedamongst the rowers, for by this time the artificers had becometolerably expert in this exercise. By inadvertency some of theoars provided had been made of fir instead of ash, and although aconsiderable stock had been laid in, the workmen, being at firstawkward in the art, were constantly breaking their oars; indeed itwas no uncommon thing to see the broken blades of a pair of oarsfloating astern, in the course of a passage from the rock to thevessel. The men, upon the whole, had but little work to perform inthe course of a day; for though they exerted themselves extremelyhard while on the rock, yet, in the early state of the operations,this could not be continued for more than three or four hours at atime, and as their rations were large--consisting of one pound anda half of beef, one pound of ship biscuit, eight ounces oatmeal,two ounces barley, two ounces butter, three quarts of small beer,with vegetables and salt--they got into excellent spirits when freeof sea-sickness. The rowing of the boats against each other becamea favourite amusement, which was rather a fortunate circumstance,as it must have been attended with much inconvenience had it beenfound necessary to employ a sufficient number of sailors for thispurpose. The writer, therefore, encouraged the spirit ofemulation, and the speed of their respective boats became afavourite topic. Premiums for boat-races were instituted, whichwere contended for with great eagerness, and the respective crewskept their stations in the boats with as much precision as theykept their beds on board of the ship. With these and otherpastimes, when the weather was favourable, the time passed awayamong the inmates of the forecastle and waist of the ship. Thewriter looks back with interest upon the hours of solitude which hespent in this lonely ship with his small library.

This being the first Saturday that the artificers were afloat, allhands were served with a glass of rum and water at night, to drinkthe sailors' favourite toast of 'Wives and Sweethearts.' It wascustomary, upon these occasions, for the seamen and artificers tocollect in the galley, when the musical instruments were put inrequisition: for, according to invariable practice, every man mustplay a tune, sing a song, or tell a story.

[Sunday, 23rd Aug.]

Having, on the previous evening, arranged matters with the landing-master as to the business of the day, the signal was rung for allhands at half-past seven this morning. In the early state of thespring-tides the artificers went to the rock before breakfast, butas the tides fell later in the day, it became necessary to takethis meal before leaving the ship. At eight o'clock all hands wereassembled on the quarter-deck for prayers, a solemnity which wasgone through in as orderly a manner as circumstances would admit.When the weather permitted, the flags of the ship were hung up asan awning or screen, forming the quarter-deck into a distinctcompartment; the pendant was also hoisted at the mainmast, and alarge ensign flag was displayed over the stern; and lastly, theship's companion, or top of the staircase, was covered with theFLAG PROPER of the Lighthouse Service, on which the Bible was laid.A particular toll of the bell called all hands to the quarter-deck,when the writer read a chapter of the Bible, and, the whole ship'scompany being uncovered, he also read the impressive prayercomposed by the Reverend Dr. Brunton, one of the ministers ofEdinburgh.

Upon concluding this service, which was attended with becomingreverence and attention, all on board retired to their respectiveberths to breakfast, and, at half-past nine, the bell again rungfor the artificers to take their stations in their respectiveboats. Some demur having been evinced on board about the proprietyof working on Sunday, which had hitherto been touched upon asdelicately as possible, all hands being called aft, the writer,from the quarter-deck, stated generally the nature of the service,expressing his hopes that every man would feel himself called uponto consider the erection of a lighthouse on the Bell Rock, in everypoint of view, as a work of necessity and mercy. He knew thatscruples had existed with some, and these had, indeed, been fairlyand candidly urged before leaving the shore; but it was expectedthat, after having seen the critical nature of the rock, and thenecessity of the measure, every man would now be satisfied of thepropriety of embracing all opportunities of landing on the rockwhen the state of the weather would permit. The writer furthertook them to witness that it did not proceed from want of respectfor the appointments and established forms of religion that he hadhimself adopted the resolution of attending the Bell Rock works onthe Sunday; but, as he hoped, from a conviction that it was hisbounden duty, on the strictest principles of morality. At the sametime it was intimated that, if any were of a different opinion,they should be perfectly at liberty to hold their sentimentswithout the imputation of contumacy or disobedience; the onlydifference would be in regard to the pay.

Upon stating this much, he stepped into his boat, requesting allwho were so disposed to follow him. The sailors, from theirhabits, found no scruple on this subject, and all of theartificers, though a little tardy, also embarked, excepting four ofthe masons, who, from the beginning, mentioned that they woulddecline working on Sundays. It may here be noticed that throughoutthe whole of the operations it was observable that the men wrought,if possible, with more keenness upon the Sundays than at othertimes from an impression that they were engaged in a work ofimperious necessity, which required every possible exertion. Onreturning to the floating light, after finishing the tide's work,the boats were received by the part of the ship's crew left onboard with the usual attention of handing ropes to the boats andhelping the artificers on board; but the four masons who hadabsented themselves from the work did not appear upon deck.

[Monday, 24th Aug.]

The boats left the floating light at a quarter-past nine o'clockthis morning, and the work began at three-quarters past nine; butas the neap-tides were approaching the working time at the rockbecame gradually shorter, and it was now with difficulty that twoand a half hours' work could be got. But so keenly had the workmenentered into the spirit of the beacon-house operations, that theycontinued to bore the holes in the rock till some of them wereknee-deep in water.

The operations at this time were entirely directed to the erectionof the beacon, in which every man felt an equal interest, as atthis critical period the slightest casualty to any of the boats atthe rock might have been fatal to himself individually, while itwas perhaps peculiar to the writer more immediately to feel for thesafety of the whole. Each log or upright beam of the beacon was tobe fixed to the rock by two strong and massive bats or stanchionsof iron. These bats, for the fixture of the principal and diagonalbeams and bracing chains, required fifty-four holes, each measuringtwo inches in diameter and eighteen inches in depth. There hadalready been so considerable a progress made in boring andexcavating the holes that the writer's hopes of getting the beaconerected this year began to be more and more confirmed, although itwas now advancing towards what was considered the latter end of theproper working season at the Bell Rock. The foreman joiner, Mr.Francis Watt, was accordingly appointed to attend at the rock to-day, when the necessary levels were taken for the step or seat ofeach particular beam of the beacon, that they might be cut to theirrespective lengths, to suit the inequalities of the rock; severalof the stanchions were also tried into their places, and othernecessary observations made, to prevent mistakes on the applicationof the apparatus, and to facilitate the operations when the beamscame to be set up, which would require to be done in the course ofa single tide.

[Tuesday, 25th Aug.]

We had now experienced an almost unvaried tract of light airs ofeasterly wind, with clear weather in the fore-part of the day andfog in the evenings. To-day, however, it sensibly changed; whenthe wind came to the south-west, and blew a fresh breeze. At ninea.m. the bell rung, and the boats were hoisted out, and though theartificers were now pretty well accustomed to tripping up and downthe sides of the floating light, yet it required more seamanshipthis morning than usual. It therefore afforded some merriment tothose who had got fairly seated in their respective boats to seethe difficulties which attended their companions, and thehesitating manner in which they quitted hold of the man-ropes inleaving the ship. The passage to the rock was tedious, and theboats did not reach it till half-past ten.

It being now the period of neap-tides, the water only partiallyleft the rock, and some of the men who were boring on the lowerledges of the site of the beacon stood knee-deep in water. Thesituation of the smith to-day was particularly disagreeable, buthis services were at all times indispensable. As the tide did notleave the site of the forge, he stood in the water, and as therewas some roughness on the surface it was with considerabledifficulty that, with the assistance of the sailors, he was enabledto preserve alive his fire; and, while his feet were immersed inwater, his face was not only scorched but continually exposed tovolumes of smoke, accompanied with sparks from the fire, which wereoccasionally set up owing to the strength and direction of thewind.

[Wednesday, 26th Aug.]

The wind had shifted this morning to N.N.W., with rain, and wasblowing what sailors call a fresh breeze. To speak, perhaps,somewhat more intelligibly to the general reader, the wind was suchthat a fishing-boat could just carry full sail. But as it was ofimportance, specially in the outset of the business, to keep up thespirit of enterprise for landing on all practicable occasions, thewriter, after consulting with the landing-master, ordered the bellto be rung for embarking, and at half-past eleven the boats reachedthe rock, and left it again at a quarter-past twelve, without,however, being able to do much work, as the smith could not be setto work from the smallness of the ebb and the strong breach of sea,which lashed with great force among the bars of the forge.

Just as we were about to leave the rock the wind shifted to theS.W., and, from a fresh gale, it became what seamen term a hardgale, or such as would have required the fisherman to take in twoor three reefs in his sail. It is a curious fact that therespective tides of ebb and flood are apparent upon the shore aboutan hour and a half sooner than at the distance of three or fourmiles in the offing. But what seems chiefly interesting here isthat the tides around this small sunken rock should follow exactlythe same laws as on the extensive shores of the mainland. When theboats left the Bell Rock to-day it was overflowed by the flood-tide, but the floating light did not swing round to the flood-tidefor more than an hour afterwards. Under this disadvantage theboats had to struggle with the ebb-tide and a hard gale of wind, sothat it was with the greatest difficulty that they reached thefloating light. Had this gale happened in spring-tides when thecurrent was strong we must have been driven to sea in a veryhelpless condition.

The boat which the writer steered was considerably behind theother, one of the masons having unluckily broken his oar. Ourprospect of getting on board, of course, became doubtful, and oursituation was rather perilous, as the boat shipped so much sea thatit occupied two of the artificers to bale and clear her of water.When the oar gave way we were about half a mile from the ship, but,being fortunately to windward, we got into the wake of the floatinglight, at about 250 fathoms astern, just as the landing-master'sboat reached the vessel. He immediately streamed or floated alife-buoy astern, with a line which was always in readiness, and bymeans of this useful implement the boat was towed alongside of thefloating light, where, from her rolling motion, it required nosmall management to get safely on board, as the men were much wornout with their exertions in pulling from the rock. On the presentoccasion the crews of both boats were completely drenched withspray, and those who sat upon the bottom of the boats to bale themwere sometimes pretty deep in the water before it could be clearedout. After getting on board, all hands were allowed an extra dram,and, having shifted and got a warm and comfortable dinner, theaffair, it is believed, was little more thought of.

[Thursday, 27th Aug.]

The tides were now in that state which sailors term the dead of theneap, and it was not expected that any part of the rock would beseen above water to-day; at any rate, it was obvious, from theexperience of yesterday, that no work could be done upon it, andtherefore the artificers were not required to land. The wind wasat west, with light breezes, and fine clear weather; and as it wasan object with the writer to know the actual state of the Bell Rockat neap-tides, he got one of the boats manned, and, beingaccompanied by the landing-master, went to it at a quarter-pasttwelve. The parts of the rock that appeared above water being verytrifling, were covered by every wave, so that no landing was made.Upon trying the depth of water with a boathook, particularly on thesites of the lighthouse and beacon, on the former, at low water,the depth was found to be three feet, and on the central parts ofthe latter it was ascertained to be two feet eight inches. Havingmade these remarks, the boat returned to the ship at two p.m., andthe weather being good, the artificers were found amusingthemselves with fishing. The Smeaton came from Arbroath thisafternoon, and made fast to her moorings, having brought lettersand newspapers, with parcels of clean linen, etc., for the workmen,who were also made happy by the arrival of three of their comradesfrom the workyard ashore. From these men they not only receivedall the news of the workyard, but seemed themselves to enjoy greatpleasure in communicating whatever they considered to beinteresting with regard to the rock. Some also got letters fromtheir friends at a distance, the postage of which for the menafloat was always free, so that they corresponded the more readily.

The site of the building having already been carefully traced outwith the pick-axe, the artificers this day commenced the excavationof the rock for the foundation or first course of the lighthouse.Four men only were employed at this work, while twelve continued atthe site of the beacon-house, at which every possible opportunitywas embraced, till this essential art of the operations should becompleted.

[Wednesday, 2nd Sept.]

The floating light's bell rung this morning at half-past fouro'clock, as a signal for the boats to be got ready, and the landingtook place at half-past five. In passing the Smeaton at hermoorings near the rock, her boat followed with eight additionalartificers who had come from Arbroath with her at last trip, butthere being no room for them in the floating light's boats, theyhad continued on board. The weather did not look very promising inthe morning, the wind blowing pretty fresh from W.S.W.: and had itnot been that the writer calculated upon having a vessel so much atcommand, in all probability he would not have ventured to land.The Smeaton rode at what sailors call a salvagee, with a cross-headmade fast to the floating buoy. This kind of attachment was foundto be more convenient than the mode of passing the hawser throughthe ring of the buoy when the vessel was to be made fast. She hadthen only to be steered very close to the buoy, when the salvageewas laid hold of with a boat-hook, and the BITE of the hawserthrown over the cross-head. But the salvagee, by this method, wasalways left at the buoy, and was, of course, more liable to chafeand wear than a hawser passed through the ring, which could bewattled with canvas, and shifted at pleasure. The salvagee andcross method is, however, much practised; but the experience ofthis morning showed it to be very unsuitable for vessels riding inan exposed situation for any length of time.

Soon after the artificers landed they commenced work; but the windcoming to blow hard, the Smeaton's boat and crew, who had broughttheir complement of eight men to the rock, went off to examine herriding ropes, and see that they were in proper order. The boat hadno sooner reached the vessel than she went adrift, carrying theboat along with her. By the time that she was got round to make atack towards the rock, she had drifted at least three miles toleeward, with the praam-boat astern; and, having both the wind anda tide against her, the writer perceived, with no little anxiety,that she could not possibly return to the rock till long after itsbeing overflowed; for, owing to the anomaly of the tides formerlynoticed, the Bell Rock is completely under water when the ebbabates to the offing.

In this perilous predicament, indeed, he found himself placedbetween hope and despair--but certainly the latter was by much themost predominant feeling of his mind--situate upon a sunken rock inthe middle of the ocean, which, in the progress of the flood-tide,was to be laid under water to the depth of at least twelve feet ina stormy sea. There were this morning thirty-two persons in allupon the rock, with only two boats, whose complement, even in goodweather, did not exceed twenty-four sitters; but to row to thefloating light with so much wind, and in so heavy a sea, acomplement of eight men for each boat was as much as could, withpropriety, be attempted, so that, in this way, about one-half ofour number was unprovided for. Under these circumstances, had thewriter ventured to despatch one of the boats in expectation ofeither working the Smeaton sooner up towards the rock, or in hopesof getting her boat brought to our assistance, this must have givenan immediate alarm to the artificers, each of whom would haveinsisted upon taking to his own boat, and leaving the eightartificers belonging to the Smeaton to their chance. Of course ascuffle might have ensued, and it is hard to say, in the ardour ofmen contending for life, where it might have ended. It has evenbeen hinted to the writer that a party of the PICKMEN weredetermined to keep exclusively to their own boat against allhazards.

The unfortunate circumstance of the Smeaton and her boat havingdrifted was, for a considerable time, only known to the writer andto the landing-master, who removed to the farther point of therock, where he kept his eye steadily upon the progress of thevessel. While the artificers were at work, chiefly in sitting orkneeling postures, excavating the rock, or boring with the jumpers,and while their numerous hammers, with the sound of the smith'sanvil, continued, the situation of things did not appear so awful.In this state of suspense, with almost certain destruction at hand,the water began to rise upon those who were at work on the lowerparts of the sites of the beacon and lighthouse. From the run ofsea upon the rock, the forge fire was also sooner extinguished thismorning than usual, and the volumes of smoke having ceased, objectsin every direction became visible from all parts of the rock.After having had about three 'hours' work, the men began, prettygenerally, to make towards their respective boats for their jacketsand stockings, when, to their astonishment, instead of three, theyfound only two boats, the third being adrift with the Smeaton. Nota word was uttered by any one, but all appeared to be silentlycalculating their numbers, and looking to each other with evidentmarks of perplexity depicted in their countenances. The landing-master, conceiving that blame might be attached to him for allowingthe boat to leave the rock, still kept at a distance. At thiscritical moment the author was standing upon an elevated part ofSmith's Ledge, where he endeavoured to mark the progress of theSmeaton, not a little surprised that her crew did not cut the praamadrift, which greatly retarded her way, and amazed that some effortwas not making to bring at least the boat, and attempt our relief.The workmen looked steadfastly upon the writer, and turnedoccasionally towards the vessel, still far to leeward. {122a} Allthis passed in the most perfect silence, and the melancholysolemnity of the group made an impression never to be effaced fromhis mind.

The writer had all along been considering of various schemes--providing the men could be kept under command--which might be putin practice for the general safety, in hopes that the Smeaton mightbe able to pick up the boats to leeward, when they were obliged toleave the rock. He was, accordingly, about to address theartificers on the perilous nature of their circumstances, and topropose that all hands should unstrip their upper clothing when thehigher parts of the rock were laid under water; that the seamenshould remove every unnecessary weight and encumbrance from theboats; that a specified number of men should go into each boat, andthat the remainder should hang by the gunwales, while the boatswere to be rowed gently towards the Smeaton, as the course to thePharos, or floating light, lay rather to windward of the rock. Butwhen he attempted to speak his mouth was so parched that his tonguerefused utterance, and he now learned by experience that the salivais as necessary as the tongue itself for speech. He turned to oneof the pools on the rock and lapped a little water, which producedimmediate relief. But what was his happiness, when on rising fromthis unpleasant beverage, some one called out, 'A boat! a boat!'and, on looking around, at no great distance, a large boat was seenthrough the haze making towards the rock. This at once enlivenedand rejoiced every heart. The timeous visitor proved to be JamesSpink, the Bell Rock pilot, who had come express from Arbroath withletters. Spink had for some time seen the Smeaton, and had evensupposed, from the state of the weather, that all hands were onboard of her till he approached more nearly and observed peopleupon the rock; but not supposing that the assistance of his boatwas necessary to carry the artificers off the rock, he anchored onthe lee-side and began to fish, waiting, as usual, till the letterswere sent for, as the pilot-boat was too large and unwieldy forapproaching the rock when there was any roughness or run of the seaat the entrance of the landing creeks.

Upon this fortunate change of circumstances, sixteen of theartificers were sent, at two trips, in one of the boats, withinstructions for Spink to proceed with them to the floating light.This being accomplished, the remaining sixteen followed in the twoboats belonging to the service of the rock. Every one felt themost perfect happiness at leaving the Bell Rock this morning,though a very hard and even dangerous passage to the floating lightstill awaited us, as the wind by this time had increased to apretty hard gale, accompanied with a considerable swell of sea.Every one was as completely drenched in water as if he had beendragged astern of the boats. The writer, in particular, being atthe helm, found, on getting on board, that his face and ears werecompletely coated with a thin film of salt from the sea spray,which broke constantly over the bows of the boat. After muchbaling of water and severe work at the oars, the three boatsreached the floating light, where some new difficulties occurred ingetting on board in safety, owing partly to the exhausted state ofthe men, and partly to the violent rolling of the vessel.

As the tide flowed, it was expected that the Smeaton would have gotto windward; but, seeing that all was safe, after tacking forseveral hours and making little progress, she bore away forArbroath, with the praam-boat. As there was now too much wind forthe pilot-boat to return to Arbroath, she was made fast astern ofthe floating light, and the crew remained on board till next day,when the weather moderated. There can be very little doubt thatthe appearance of James Spink with his boat on this criticaloccasion was the means of preventing the loss of lives at the rockthis morning. When these circumstances, some years afterwards,came to the knowledge of the Board, a small pension was ordered toour faithful pilot, then in his seventieth year; and he stillcontinues to wear the uniform clothes and badge of the Lighthouseservice. Spink is a remarkably strong man, whose tout ensemble ishighly characteristic of a North-country fisherman. He usuallydresses in a pe-jacket, cut after a particular fashion, and wears alarge, flat, blue bonnet. A striking likeness of Spink in hispilot-dress, with the badge or insignia on his left arm which ischaracteristic of the boatmen in the service of the NorthernLights, has been taken by Howe, and is in the writer's possession.

[Thursday, 3rd Sept.]

The bell rung this morning at five o'clock, but the writer mustacknowledge, from the circumstances of yesterday, that its soundwas extremely unwelcome. This appears also to have been thefeelings of the artificers, for when they came to be mustered, outof twenty-six, only eight, besides the foreman and seamen, appearedupon deck to accompany the writer to the rock. Such are thebaneful effects of anything like misfortune or accident connectedwith a work of this description. The use of argument to persuadethe men to embark in cases of this kind would have been out ofplace, as it is not only discomfort, or even the risk of the lossof a limb, but life itself that becomes the question. The boats,notwithstanding the thinness of our ranks, left the vessel at half-past five. The rough weather of yesterday having proved but asummer's gale, the wind came to-day in gentle breezes; yet, theatmosphere being cloudy, it a not a very favourable appearance.The boats reached the rock at six a.m., and the eight artificerswho landed were employed in clearing out the bat-holes for thebeacon-house, and had a very prosperous tide of four hours' work,being the longest yet experienced by half an hour.

The boats left the rock again at ten o'clock, and the weatherhaving cleared up as we drew near the vessel, the eighteenartificers who had remained on board were observed upon deck, butas the boats approached they sought their way below, being quiteashamed of their conduct. This was the only instance of refusal togo to the rock which occurred during the whole progress of thework, excepting that of the four men who declined working uponSunday, a case which the writer did not conceive to be at allanalogous to the present. It may here be mentioned, much to thecredit of these four men, that they stood foremost in embarking forthe rock this morning.

[Saturday, 5th Sept.]

It was fortunate that a landing was not attempted this evening, forat eight o'clock the wind shifted to E.S.E., and at ten it hadbecome a hard gale, when fifty fathoms of the floating light'shempen cable were veered out. The gale still increasing, the shiprolled and laboured excessively, and at midnight eighty fathoms ofcable were veered out; while the sea continued to strike the vesselwith a degree of force which had not before been experienced.

[Sunday, 6th Sept.]

During the last night there was little rest on board of the Pharos,and daylight, though anxiously wished for, brought no relief, asthe gale continued with unabated violence. The sea struck so hardupon the vessel's bows that it rose in great quantities, or in'green seas,' as the sailors termed it, which were carried by thewind as far aft as the quarter-deck, and not infrequently over thestern of the ship altogether. It fell occasionally so heavily onthe skylight of the writer's cabin, though so far aft as to bewithin five feet of the helm, that the glass was broken to piecesbefore the dead-light could be got into its place, so that thewater poured down in great quantities. In shutting out the water,the admission of light was prevented, and in the morning allcontinued in the most comfortless state of darkness. About teno'clock a.m. the wind shifted to N.E., and blew, if possible,harder than before, and it was accompanied by a much heavier swellof sea. In the course of the gale, the part of the cable in thehause-hole had been so often shifted that nearly the whole lengthof one of her hempen cables, of 120 fathoms, had been veered out,besides the chain-moorings. The cable, for its preservation, wasalso carefully served or wattled with pieces of canvas round thewindlass, and with leather well greased in the hause-hole. In thisstate things remained during the whole day, every sea which struckthe vessel--and the seas followed each other in close succession--causing her to shake, and all on board occasionally to tremble. Ateach of these strokes of the sea the rolling and pitching of thevessel ceased for a time, and her motion was felt as if she hadeither broke adrift before the wind or were in the act of sinking;but, when another sea came, she ranged up against it with greatforce, and this became the regular intimation of our being stillriding at anchor.

About eleven o'clock, the writer with some difficulty got out ofbed, but, in attempting to dress, he was thrown twice upon thefloor at the opposite end of the cabin. In an undressed state hemade shift to get about half-way up the companion-stairs, with anintention to observe the state of the sea and of the ship upondeck; but he no sooner looked over the companion than a heavy seastruck the vessel, which fell on the quarter-deck, and rusheddownstairs in the officers' cabin in so considerable a quantitythat it was found necessary to lift one of the scuttles in thefloor, to let the water into the limbers of the ship, as it dashedfrom side to side in such a manner as to run into the lower tier ofbeds. Having been foiled in this attempt, and being completelywetted, he again got below and went to bed. In this state of theweather the seamen had to move about the necessary or indispensableduties of the ship with the most cautious use both of hands andfeet, while it required all the art of the landsman to keep withinthe precincts of his bed. The writer even found himself so muchtossed about that it became necessary, in some measure, to shuthimself in bed, in order to avoid being thrown upon the floor.Indeed, such was the motion of the ship that it seemed whollyimpracticable to remain in any other than a lying posture. On deckthe most stormy aspect presented itself, while below all was wetand comfortless.

About two o'clock p.m. a great alarm was given throughout the shipfrom the effects of a very heavy sea which struck her, and almostfilled the waist, pouring down into the berths below, through everychink and crevice of the hatches and skylights. From the motion ofthe vessel being thus suddenly deadened or checked, and from theflowing in of the water above, it is believed there was not anindividual on board who did not think, at the moment, that thevessel had foundered, and was in the act of sinking. The writercould withstand this no longer, and as soon as she again began torange to the sea he determined to make another effort to get upondeck. In the first instance, however, he groped his way indarkness from his own cabin through the berths of the officers,where all was quietness. He next entered the galley and othercompartments occupied by the artificers. Here also all was shut upin darkness, the fire having been drowned out in the early part ofthe gale. Several of the artificers were employed in prayer,repeating psalms and other devotional exercises in a full tone ofvoice; others protesting that, if they should fortunately get oncemore on shore, no one should ever see them afloat again. With theassistance of the landing-master, the writer made his way, holdingon step by step, among the numerous impediments which lay in theway. Such was the creaking noise of the bulk-heads or partitions,the dashing of the water, and the whistling noise of the winds,that it was hardly possible to break in upon such a confusion ofsounds. In one or two instances, anxious and repeated inquirieswere made by the artificers as to the state of things upon deck, towhich the captain made the usual answer, that it could not blowlong in this way, and that we must soon have better weather. Thenext berth in succession, moving forward in the ship, was thatallotted for the seamen. Here the scene was considerablydifferent. Having reached the middle of this darksome berthwithout its inmates being aware of any intrusion, the writer hadthe consolation of remarking that, although they talked of badweather and the cross accidents of the sea, yet the conversationwas carried on in that sort of tone and manner which bespoke anease and composure of mind highly creditable to them and pleasingto him. The writer immediately accosted the seamen about the stateof the ship. To these inquiries they replied that the vessel beinglight, and having but little hold of the water, no top-rigging,with excellent ground-tackle, and everything being fresh and new,they felt perfect confidence in their situation.

It being impossible to open any of the hatches in the fore part ofthe ship in communicating with the deck, the watch was changed bypassing through the several berths to the companion-stair leadingto the quarter-deck. The writer, therefore, made the best of hisway aft, and, on a second attempt to look out, he succeeded, andsaw indeed an astonishing sight. The sea or waves appeared to beten or fifteen feet in height of unbroken water, and everyapproaching billow seemed as if it would overwhelm our vessel, butshe continued to rise upon the waves and to fall between the seasin a very wonderful manner. It seemed to be only those seas whichcaught her in the act of rising which struck her with so muchviolence and threw such quantities of water aft. On deck there wasonly one solitary individual looking out, to give the alarm in theevent of the ship breaking from her moorings. The seaman on watchcontinued only two hours; he who kept watch at this time was atall, slender man of a black complexion; he had no greatcoat norover-all of any kind, but was simply dressed in his ordinary jacketand trousers; his hat was tied under his chin with a napkin, and hestood aft the foremast, to which he had lashed himself with agasket or small rope round his waist, to prevent his falling upondeck or being washed overboard. When the writer looked up, heappeared to smile, which afforded a further symptom of theconfidence of the crew in their ship. This person on watch was ascompletely wetted as if he had been drawn through the sea, whichwas given as a reason for his not putting on a greatcoat, that hemight wet as few of his clothes as possible, and have a dry shiftwhen he went below. Upon deck everything that was movable was outof sight, having either been stowed below, previous to the gale, orbeen washed overboard. Some trifling parts of the quarter boardswere damaged by the breach of the sea; and one of the boats upondeck was about one-third full of water, the oyle-hole or drainhaving been accidently stopped up, and part of her gunwale hadreceived considerable injury. These observations were hastilymade, and not without occasionally shutting the companion, to avoidbeing wetted by the successive seas which broke over the bows andfell upon different parts of the deck according to the impetus withwhich the waves struck the vessel. By this time it was about threeo'clock in the afternoon, and the gale, which had now continuedwith unabated force for twenty-seven hours, had not the leastappearance of going off.

In the dismal prospect of undergoing another night like the last,and being in imminent hazard of parting from our cable, the writerthought it necessary to advise with the master and officers of theship as to the probable event of the vessel's drifting from hermoorings. They severally gave it as their opinion that we had nowevery chance of riding out the gale, which, in all probability,could not continue with the same fury many hours longer; and thateven if she should part from her anchor, the storm-sails had beenlaid to hand, and could be bent in a very short time. They furtherstated that from the direction of the wind being N.E., she wouldsail up the Firth of Forth to Leith Roads. But if this shouldappear doubtful, after passing the Island and Light of May, itmight be advisable at once to steer for Tyningham Sands, on thewestern side of Dunbar, and there run the vessel ashore. If thisshould happen at the time of high-water, or during the ebbing ofthe tide, they were of opinion, from the flatness and strength ofthe floating light, that no danger would attend her taking theground, even with a very heavy sea. The writer, seeing theconfidence which these gentlemen possessed with regard to thesituation of things, found himself as much relieved with thisconversation as he had previously been with the seemingindifference of the forecastle men, and the smile of the watch upondeck, though literally lashed to the foremast. From this time hefelt himself almost perfectly at ease; at any rate, he was entirelyresigned to the ultimate result.

About six o'clock in the evening the ship's company was heardmoving upon deck, which on the present occasion was rather thecause of alarm. The writer accordingly rang his bell to know whatwas the matter, when he was informed by the steward that theweather looked considerably better, and that the men upon deck wereendeavouring to ship the smoke-funnel of the galley that the peoplemight get some meat. This was a more favourable account than hadbeen anticipated. During the last twenty-one hours he himself hadnot only had nothing to eat, but he had almost never passed athought on the subject. Upon the mention of a change of weather,he sent the steward to learn how the artificers felt, and on hisreturn he stated that they now seemed to be all very happy, sincethe cook had begun to light the galley-fire and make preparationsfor the suet-pudding of Sunday, which was the only dish to beattempted for the mess, from the ease with which it could both becooked and served up.

The principal change felt upon the ship as the wind abated was herincreased rolling motion, but the pitching was much diminished, andnow hardly any sea came farther aft than the foremast: but sherolled so extremely hard as frequently to dip and take in waterover the gunwales and rails in the waist. By nine o'clock allhands had been refreshed by the exertions of the cook and steward,and were happy in the prospect of the worst of the gale being over.The usual complement of men was also now set on watch, and morequietness was experienced throughout the ship. Although theprevious night had been a very restless one, it had not the effectof inducing repose in the writer's berth on the succeeding night;for having been so much tossed about in bed during the last thirtyhours, he found no easy spot to turn to, and his body was all soreto the touch, which ill accorded with the unyielding materials withwhich his bed-place was surrounded.

[Monday, 7th Sept.]

This morning, about eight o'clock, the writer was agreeablysurprised to see the scuttle of his cabin sky-light removed, andthe bright rays of the sun admitted. Although the ship continuedto roll excessively, and the sea was still running very high, yetthe ordinary business on board seemed to be going forward on deck.It was impossible to steady a telescope, so as to look minutely atthe progress of the waves and trace their breach upon the BellRock; but the height to which the cross-running waves rose insprays when they met each other was truly grand, and the continuedroar and noise of the sea was very perceptible to the ear. Toestimate the height of the sprays at forty or fifty feet wouldsurely be within the mark. Those of the workmen who were not muchafflicted with sea-sickness, came upon deck, and the wetness belowbeing dried up, the cabins were again brought into a habitablestate. Every one seemed to meet as if after a long absence,congratulating his neighbour upon the return of good weather.Little could be said as to the comfort of the vessel, but afterriding out such a gale, no one felt the least doubt or hesitationas to the safety and good condition of her moorings. The masterand mate were extremely anxious, however, to heave in the hempencable, and see the state of the clinch or iron ring of the chain-cable. But the vessel rolled at such a rate that the seamen couldnot possibly keep their feet at the windlass nor work the hand-spikes, though it had been several times attempted since the galetook off.

About twelve noon, however, the vessel's motion was observed to beconsiderably less, and the sailors were enabled to walk upon deckwith some degree of freedom. But, to the astonishment of everyone, it was soon discovered that the floating light was adrift!The windlass was instantly manned, and the men soon gave out thatthere was no strain upon the cable. The mizzen sail, which wasbent for the occasional purpose of making the vessel ride moreeasily to the tide, was immediately set, and the other sails werealso hoisted in a short time, when, in no small consternation, webore away about one mile to the south-westward of the formerstation, and there let go the best bower anchor and cable in twentyfathoms water, to ride until the swell of the sea should fall, whenit might be practicable to grapple for the moorings, and find abetter anchorage for the ship.

[Tuesday, 15th Sept.]

This morning, at five a.m., the bell rung as a signal for landingupon the rock, a sound which, after a lapse of ten days, it isbelieved was welcomed by every one on board. There being a heavybreach of sea at the eastern creek, we landed, though not withoutdifficulty, on the western side, every one seeming more eager thananother to get upon the rock; and never did hungry men sit down toa hearty meal with more appetite than the artificers began to pickthe dulse from the rocks. This marine plant had the effect ofreviving the sickly, and seemed to be no less relished by those whowere more hardy.

While the water was ebbing, and the men were roaming in quest oftheir favourite morsel, the writer was examining the effects of thestorm upon the forge and loose apparatus left upon the rock. Sixlarge blocks of granite which had been landed, by way ofexperiment, on the 1st instant, were now removed from their placesand, by the force of the sea, thrown over a rising ledge into ahole at the distance of twelve or fifteen paces from the place onwhich they had been landed. This was a pretty good evidence bothof the violence of the storm and the agitation of the sea upon therock. The safety of the smith's forge was always an object ofessential regard. The ash-pan of the hearth or fireplace, with itsweighty cast-iron back, had been washed from their places ofsupposed security; the chains of attachment had been broken, andthese ponderous articles were found at a very considerable distancein a hole on the western side of the rock; while the tools andpicks of the Aberdeen masons were scattered about in everydirection. It is, however, remarkable that not a single articlewas ultimately lost.

This being the night on which the floating light was advertised tobe lighted, it was accordingly exhibited, to the great joy of everyone.

[Wednesday, 16th Sept.]

The writer was made happy to-day by the return of the Lighthouseyacht from a voyage to the Northern Lighthouses. Havingimmediately removed on board of this fine vessel of eighty-one tonsregister, the artificers gladly followed; for, though they foundthemselves more pinched for accommodation on board of the yacht,and still more so in the Smeaton, yet they greatly preferred eitherof these to the Pharos, or floating light, on account of herrolling motion, though in all respects fitted up for theirconveniency.

The writer called them to the quarter-deck and informed them that,having been one mouth afloat, in terms of their agreement they werenow at liberty to return to the workyard at Arbroath if theypreferred this to continuing at the Bell Rock. But they repliedthat, in the prospect of soon getting the beacon erected upon therock, and having made a change from the floating light, they werenow perfectly reconciled to their situation, and would remainafloat till the end of the working season.

[Thursday, 17th Sept.]

The wind was at N.E. this morning, and though they were only lightairs, yet there was a pretty heavy swell coming ashore upon therock. The boats landed at half-past seven o'clock a.m., at thecreek on the southern side of the rock, marked Port Hamilton. Butas one of the boats was in the act of entering this creek, theseaman at the bow-oar, who had just entered the service, havinginadvertently expressed some fear from a heavy sea which camerolling towards the boat, and one of the artificers having at thesame time looked round and missed a stroke with his oar, such apreponderance was thus given to the rowers upon the opposite sidethat when the wave struck the boat it threw her upon a ledge ofshelving rocks, where the water left her, and she having KANTED toseaward, the next wave completely filled her with water. Aftermaking considerable efforts the boat was again got afloat in theproper track of the creek, so that we landed without any otheraccident than a complete ducking. There being no possibility ofgetting a shift of clothes, the artificers began with all speed towork, so as to bring themselves into heat, while the writer and hisassistants kept as much as possible in motion. Having remainedmore than an hour upon the rock, the boats left it at half-pastnine; and, after getting on board, the writer recommended to theartificers, as the best mode of getting into a state of comfort, tostrip off their wet clothes and go to bed for an hour or two. Nofurther inconveniency was felt, and no one seemed to complain ofthe affection called 'catching cold.'

[Friday, 18th Sept.]

An important occurrence connected with the operations of thisseason was the arrival of the Smeaton at four p.m., having in towthe six principal beams of the beacon-house, together with all thestanchions and other work on board for fixing it on the rock. Themooring of the floating light was a great point gained, but in theerection of the beacon at this late period of the season newdifficulties presented themselves. The success of such anundertaking at any season was precarious, because a single day ofbad weather occurring before the necessary fixtures could be mademight sweep the whole apparatus from the rock. Notwithstandingthese difficulties, the writer had determined to make the trial,although he could almost have wished, upon looking at the state ofthe clouds and the direction of the wind, that the apparatus forthe beacon had been still in the workyard.

[Saturday, 19th Sept.]

The main beams of the beacon were made up in two separate rafts,fixed with bars and bolts of iron. One of these rafts, not beingimmediately wanted, was left astern of the floating light, and theother was kept in tow by the Smeaton, at the buoy nearest to therock. The Lighthouse yacht rode at another buoy with all hands onboard that could possibly be spared out of the floating light. Theparty of artificers and seamen which landed on the rock countedaltogether forty in number. At half-past eight o'clock a derrick,or mast of thirty feet in height, was erected and properlysupported with guy-ropes, for suspending the block for raising thefirst principal beam of the beacon; and a winch machine was alsobolted down to the rock for working the purchase-tackle.

Upon raising the derrick, all hands on the rock spontaneously gavethree hearty cheers, as a favourable omen of our future exertionsin pointing out more permanently the position of the rock. Even tothis single spar of timber, could it be preserved, a drowning manmight lay hold. When the Smeaton drifted on the 2nd of this monthsuch a spar would have been sufficient to save us till she couldhave come to our relief.

[Sunday, 20th Sept.]

The wind this morning was variable, but the weather continuedextremely favourable for the operations throughout the whole day.At six a.m. the boats were in motion, and the raft, consisting offour of the six principal beams of the beacon-house, each measuringabout sixteen inches square, and fifty feet in length, was towed tothe rock, where it was anchored, that it might ground upon it asthe water ebbed. The sailors and artificers, including all hands,to-day counted no fewer than fifty-two, being perhaps the greatestnumber of persons ever collected upon the Bell Rock. It was earlyin the tide when the boats reached the rock, and the men worked aconsiderable time up to their middle in water, every one being moreeager than his neighbour to be useful. Even the four artificerswho had hitherto declined working on Sunday were to-day mostzealous in their exertions. They had indeed become so convinced ofthe precarious nature and necessity of the work that they neverafterwards absented themselves from the rock on Sunday when alanding was practicable.

Having made fast a piece of very good new line, at about two-thirdsfrom the lower end of one of the beams, the purchase-tackle of thederrick was hooked into the turns of the line, and it was speedilyraised by the number of men on the rock and the power of the winchtackle. When this log was lifted to a sufficient height, its foot,or lower end, was STEPPED into the spot which had been previouslyprepared for it. Two of the great iron stanchions were then set intheir respective holes on each side of the beam, when a rope waspassed round them and the beam, to prevent it from slipping till itcould be more permanently fixed. The derrick, or upright spar usedfor carrying the tackle to raise the first beam, was placed in sucha position as to become useful for supporting the upper end of it,which now became, in its turn, the prop of the tackle for raisingthe second beam. The whole difficulty of this operation was in theraising and propping of the first beam, which became a convenientderrick for raising the second, these again a pair of shears forlifting the third, and the shears a triangle for raising thefourth. Having thus got four of the six principal beams set onend, it required a considerable degree of trouble to get theirupper ends to fit. Here they formed the apex of a cone, and wereall together mortised into a large piece of beechwood, and secured,for the present, with ropes, in a temporary manner. During theshort period of one tide all that could further be done for theirsecurity was to put a single screw-bolt through the great kneedbats or stanchions on each side of the beams, and screw the nuthome.

In this manner these four principal beams were erected, and left ina pretty secure state. The men had commenced while there was abouttwo or three feet of water upon the side of the beacon, and as thesea was smooth they continued the work equally long during flood-tide. Two of the boats being left at the rock to take off thejoiners, who were busily employed on the upper parts till twoo'clock p.m., this tide's work may be said to have continued forabout seven hours, which was the longest that had hitherto been gotupon the rock by at least three hours.

When the first boats left the rock with the artificers employed onthe lower part of the work during the flood-tide, the beacon hadquite a novel appearance. The beams erected formed a common baseof about thirty-three feet, meeting at the top, which was aboutforty-five feet above the rock, and here half a dozen of theartificers were still at work. After clearing the rock the boatsmade a stop, when three hearty cheers were given, which werereturned with equal goodwill by those upon the beacon, from thepersonal interest which every one felt in the prosperity of thiswork, so intimately connected with his safety.

All hands having returned to their respective ships, they got ashift of dry clothes and some refreshment. Being Sunday, they wereafterwards convened by signal on board of the Lighthouse yacht,when prayers were read; for every heart upon this occasion feltgladness, and every mind was disposed to be thankful for the happyand successful termination of the operations of this day.

[Monday, 21st Sept.]

The remaining two principal beams were erected in the course ofthis tide, which, with the assistance of those set up yesterday,was found to be a very simple operation.

The six principal beams of the beacon were thus secured, at leastin a temporary manner, in the course of two tides, or in the shortspace of about eleven hours and a half. Such is the progress thatmay be made when active hands and willing minds set properly towork in operations of this kind.

[Tuesday 22nd, Sept.]

Having now got the weighty part of this work over, and beingthereby relieved of the difficulty both of landing and victuallingsuch a number of men, the Smeaton could now be spared, and she wasaccordingly despatched to Arbroath for a supply of water andprovisions, and carried with her six of the artificers who couldbest be spared.

[Wednesday, 23rd Sept.]

In going out of the eastern harbour, the boat which the writersteered shipped a sea, that filled her about one-third with water.She had also been hid for a short time, by the waves breaking uponthe rock, from the sight of the crew of the preceding boat, whowere much alarmed for our safety, imagining for a time that she hadgone down.

The Smeaton returned from Arbroath this afternoon, but there was somuch sea that she could not be made fast to her moorings, and thevessel was obliged to return to Arbroath without being able eitherto deliver the provisions or take the artificers on board. TheLighthouse yacht was also soon obliged to follow her example, asthe sea was breaking heavily over her bows. After getting tworeefs in the mainsail, and the third or storm-jib set, the windbeing S.W., she bent to windward, though blowing a hard gale, andgot into St. Andrews Bay, where we passed the night under the leeof Fifeness.

[Thursday, 24th Sept.]

At two o'clock this morning we were in St. Andrews Bay, standingoff and on shore, with strong gales of wind at S.W.; at seven wewere off the entrance of the Tay; at eight stood towards the rock,and at ten passed to leeward of it, but could not attempt alanding. The beacon, however, appeared to remain in good order,and by six p.m. the vessel had again beaten up to St. Andrews Bay,and got into somewhat smoother water for the night.

[Friday, 25th Sept.]

At seven o'clock bore away for the Bell Rock, but finding a heavysea running on it were unable to land. The writer, however, hadthe satisfaction to observe, with his telescope, that everythingabout the beacon appeared entire: and although the sea had a mostfrightful appearance, yet it was the opinion of every one that,since the erection of the beacon, the Bell Rock was divested ofmany of its terrors, and had it been possible to have got the boatshoisted out and manned, it might have even been found practicableto land. At six it blew so hard that it was found necessary tostrike the topmast and take in a third reef of the mainsail, andunder this low canvas we soon reached St. Andrews Bay, and gotagain under the lee of the land for the night. The artificers,being sea-hardy, were quite reconciled to their quarters on boardof the Lighthouse yacht; but it is believed that hardly anyconsideration would have induced them again to take up their abodein the floating light.

[Saturday, 26th Sept.]

At daylight the yacht steered towards the Bell Rock, and at eighta.m. made fast to her moorings; at ten, all hands, to the amount ofthirty, landed, when the writer had the happiness to find that thebeacon had withstood the violence of the gale and the heavy breachof sea, everything being found in the same state in which it hadbeen left on the 21st. The artificers were now enabled to workupon the rock throughout the whole day, both at low and high water,but it required the strictest attention to the state of theweather, in case of their being overtaken with a gale, which mightprevent the possibility of getting them off the rock.

Two somewhat memorable circumstances in the annals of the Bell Rockattended the operations of this day: one was the removal of Mr.James Dove, the foreman smith, with his apparatus, from the rock tothe upper part of the beacon, where the forge was now erected on atemporary platform, laid on the cross beams or upper framing. Theother was the artificers having dined for the first time upon therock, their dinner being cooked on board of the yacht, and sent tothem by one of the boats. But what afforded the greatest happinessand relief was the removal of the large bellows, which had allalong been a source of much trouble and perplexity, by theirhampering and incommoding the boat which carried the smiths andtheir apparatus.

[Saturday, 3rd Oct.]

The wind being west to-day, the weather was very favourable foroperations at the rock, and during the morning and evening tides,with the aid of torchlight, the masons had seven hours' work uponthe site of the building. The smiths and joiners, who landed athalf-past six a.m., did not leave the rock till a quarter-pasteleven p.m., having been at work, with little intermission, forsixteen hours and three-quarters. When the water left the rock,they were employed at the lower parts of the beacon, and as thetide rose or fell, they shifted the place of their operations.From these exertions, the fixing and securing of the beacon maderapid advancement, as the men were now landed in the morning andremained throughout the day. But, as a sudden change of weathermight have prevented their being taken off at the proper time oftide, a quantity of bread and water was always kept on the beacon.

During this period of working at the beacon all the day, and oftena great part of the night, the writer was much on board of thetender; but, while the masons could work on the rock, andfrequently also while it was covered by the tide, he remained onthe beacon; especially during the night, as he made a point ofbeing on the rock to the latest hour, and was generally the lastperson who stepped into the boat. He had laid this down as part ofhis plan of procedure; and in this way had acquired, in the courseof the first season, a pretty complete knowledge and experience ofwhat could actually be done at the Bell Rock, under allcircumstances of the weather. By this means also his assistants,and the artificers and mariners, got into a systematic habit ofproceeding at the commencement of the work, which, it is believed,continued throughout the whole of the operations.

[Sunday, 4th Oct.]

The external part of the beacon was now finished, with its supportsand bracing-chains, and whatever else was considered necessary forits stability in so far as the season would permit; and althoughmuch was still wanting to complete this fabric, yet it was in sucha state that it could be left without much fear of the consequencesof a storm. The painting of the upper part was nearly finishedthis afternoon; and the Smeaton had brought off a quantity ofbrushwood and other articles, for the purpose of heating orcharring the lower part of the principal beams, before being laidover with successive coats of boiling pitch, to the height of fromeight to twelve feet, or as high as the rise of spring-tides. Asmall flagstaff having also been erected to-day, a flag wasdisplayed for the first time from the beacon, by which itsperspective effect was greatly improved. On this, as on all likeoccasions at the Bell Rock, three hearty cheers were given; and thesteward served out a dram of rum to all hands, while the Lighthouseyacht, Smeaton, and floating light, hoisted their colours incompliment to the erection.

[Monday, 5th Oct.]

In the afternoon, and just as the tide's work was over, Mr. JohnRennie, engineer, accompanied by his son Mr. George, on their wayto the harbour works of Fraserburgh, in Aberdeenshire, paid a visitto the Bell Rock, in a boat from Arbroath. It being then too latein the tide for landing, they remained on board of the Lighthouseyacht all night, when the writer, who had now been secluded fromsociety for several weeks, enjoyed much of Mr. Rennie's interestingconversation, both on general topics, and professionally upon theprogress of the Bell Rock works, on which he was consulted as chiefengineer.

[Tuesday, 6th Oct.]

The artificers landed this morning at nine, after which one of theboats returned to the ship for the writer and Messrs. Rennie, who,upon landing, were saluted with a display of the colours from thebeacon and by three cheers from the workmen. Everything was now ina prepared state for leaving the rock, and giving up the worksafloat for this season, excepting some small articles, which wouldstill occupy the smiths and joiners for a few days longer. Theyaccordingly shifted on board of the Smeaton, while the yacht leftthe rock for Arbroath, with Messrs. Rennie, the writer, and theremainder of the artificers. But, before taking leave, the stewardserved out a farewell glass, when three hearty cheers were given,and an earnest wish expressed that everything, in the spring of1808, might be found in the same state of good order as it was nowabout to be left.

II--OPERATIONS OF 1808

[Monday, 29th Feb.]

The writer sailed from Arbroath at one a.m. in the Lighthouseyacht. At seven the floating light was hailed, and all on boardfound to be well. The crew were observed to have a very healthy-like appearance, and looked better than at the close of the worksupon the rock. They seemed only to regret one thing, which was thesecession of their cook, Thomas Elliot--not on account of hisprofessional skill, but for his facetious and curious manner.Elliot had something peculiar in his history, and was reported byhis comrades to have seen better days. He was, however, happy withhis situation on board of the floating light, and, having a tastefor music, dancing, and acting plays, he contributed much to theamusement of the ship's company in their dreary abode during thewinter months. He had also recommended himself to their notice asa good shipkeeper, for as it did not answer Elliot to go oftenashore, he had always given up his turn of leave to his neighbours.At his own desire he was at length paid off, when he had aconsiderable balance of wages to receive, which he said would besufficient to carry him to the West Indies, and he accordingly tookleave of the Lighthouse service.

[Tuesday, 1st March]

At daybreak the Lighthouse yacht, attended by a boat from thefloating light, again stood towards the Bell Rock. The weatherfelt extremely cold this morning, the thermometer being at 34degrees, with the wind at east, accompanied by occasional showersof snow, and the marine barometer indicated 29.80. At half-pastseven the sea ran with such force upon the rock that it seemeddoubtful if a landing could be effected. At half-past eight, whenit was fairly above water, the writer took his place in thefloating light's boat with the artificers, while the yacht's boatfollowed, according to the general rule of having two boats afloatin landing expeditions of this kind, that, in case of accident toone boat, the other might assist. In several unsuccessful attemptsthe boats were beat back by the breach of the sea upon the rock.On the eastern side it separated into two distinct waves, whichcame with a sweep round to the western side, where they met; and atthe instance of their confluence the water rose in spray to aconsiderable height. Watching what the sailors term a SMOOTH, wecaught a favourable opportunity, and in a very dexterous manner theboats were rowed between the two seas, and made a favourablelanding at the western creek.

At the latter end of last season, as was formerly noticed, thebeacon was painted white, and from the bleaching of the weather andthe sprays of the sea the upper parts were kept clean; but withinthe range of the tide the principal beams were observed to bethickly coated with a green stuff, the conferva of botanists.Notwithstanding the intrusion of these works, which had formerlybanished the numerous seals that played about the rock, they werenow seen in great numbers, having been in an almost undisturbedstate for six months. It had now also, for the first time, gotsome inhabitants of the feathered tribe: in particular the scarthor cormorant, and the large herring-gull, had made the beacon aresting-place, from its vicinity to their fishing-grounds. About adozen of these birds had rested upon the cross-beams, which, insome places, were coated with their dung; and their flight, as theboats approached, was a very unlooked-for indication of life andhabitation on the Bell Rock, conveying the momentary idea of theconversion of this fatal rock, from being a terror to the mariner,into a residence of man and a safeguard to shipping.

Upon narrowly examining the great iron stanchions with which thebeams were fixed to the rock, the writer had the satisfaction offinding that there was not the least appearance of working orshifting at any of the joints or places of connection; and,excepting the loosening of the bracing-chains, everything was foundin the same entire state in which it had been left in the month ofOctober. This, in the estimation of the writer, was a matter of nosmall importance to the future success of the work. He from thatmoment saw the practicability and propriety of fitting up thebeacon, not only as a place of refuge in case of accident to theboats in landing, but as a residence for the artificers during theworking months.

While upon the top of the beacon the writer was reminded by thelanding-master that the sea was running high, and that it would benecessary to set off while the rock afforded anything like shelterto the boats, which by this time had been made fast by a long lineto the beacon, and rode with much agitation, each requiring two menwith boat-hooks to keep them from striking each other, or fromranging up against the beacon. But even under these circumstancesthe greatest confidence was felt by every one, from the securityafforded by this temporary erection. For, supposing the wind hadsuddenly increased to a gale, and that it had been foundunadvisable to go into the boats; or, supposing they had drifted orsprung a leak from striking upon the rocks; in any of thesepossible and not at all improbable cases, those who might thus havebeen left upon the rock had now something to lay hold of, and,though occupying this dreary habitation of the sea-gull and thecormorant, affording only bread and water, yet LIFE, would bepreserved, and the mind would still be supported by the hope ofbeing ultimately relieved.

[Wednesday, 25th May]

On the 25th of May the writer embarked at Arbroath, on board of theSir Joseph Banks, for the Bell Rock, accompanied by Mr. Logansenior, foreman builder, with twelve masons and two smiths,together with thirteen seamen, including the master, mate, andsteward.

[Thursday, 26th May]

Mr. James Wilson, now commander of the Pharos, floating light, andlanding-master, in the room of Mr. Sinclair, who had left theservice, came into the writer's cabin this morning at six o'clock,and intimated that there was a good appearance of landing on therock. Everything being arranged, both boats proceeded in company,and at eight a.m. they reached the rock. The lighthouse colourswere immediately hoisted upon the flagstaff of the beacon, acompliment which was duly returned by the tender and floatinglight, when three hearty cheers were given, and a glass of rum wasserved out to all hands to drink success to the operations of 1808.

[Friday, 27th May]

This morning the wind was at east, blowing a fresh gale, theweather being hazy, with a considerable breach of sea setting inupon the rock. The morning bell was therefore rung, in some doubtas to the practicability of making a landing. After allowing therock to get fully up, or to be sufficiently left by the tide, thatthe boats might have some shelter from the range of the sea, theyproceeded at 8 a.m., and upon the whole made a pretty good landing;and after two hours and three-quarters' work returned to the shipin safety.

In the afternoon the wind considerably increased, and, as a prettyheavy sea was still running, the tender rode very hard, when Mr.Taylor, the commander, found it necessary to take in the bowsprit,and strike the fore and main topmasts, that she might ride moreeasily. After consulting about the state of the weather, it wasresolved to leave the artificers on board this evening, and carryonly the smiths to the rock, as the sharpening of the irons wasrather behind, from their being so much broken and blunted by thehard and tough nature of the rock, which became much more compactand hard as the depth of excavation was increased. Besidesavoiding the risk of encumbering the boats with a number of men whohad not yet got the full command of the oar in a breach of sea, thewriter had another motive for leaving them behind. He wanted toexamine the site of the building without interruption, and to takethe comparative levels of the different inequalities of its area;and as it would have been painful to have seen men standing idleupon the Bell Rock, where all moved with activity, it was judgedbetter to leave them on board. The boats landed at half-past sevenp.m., and the landing-master, with the seamen, was employed duringthis tide in cutting the seaweeds from the several paths leading tothe landing-places, to render walking more safe, for, from theslippery state of the surface of the rock, many severe tumbles hadtaken place. In the meantime the writer took the necessary levels,and having carefully examined the site of the building andconsidered all its parts, it still appeared to be necessary toexcavate to the average depth of fourteen inches over the wholearea of the foundation.

[Saturday, 28th May]

The wind still continued from the eastward with a heavy swell; andto-day it was accompanied with foggy weather and occasional showersof rain. Notwithstanding this, such was the confidence which theerection of the beacon had inspired that the boats landed theartificers on the rock under very unpromising circumstances, athalf-past eight, and they continued at work till half-past eleven,being a period of three hours, which was considered a great tide'swork in the present low state of the foundation. Three of themasons on board were so afflicted with sea-sickness that they hadnot been able to take any food for almost three days, and they wereliterally assisted into the boats this morning by their companions.It was, however, not a little surprising to see how speedily thesemen revived upon landing on the rock and eating a little dulse.Two of them afterwards assisted the sailors in collecting the chipsof stone and carrying them out of the way of the pickmen; but thethird complained of a pain in his head, and was still unable to doanything. Instead of returning to the tender with the boats, thesethree men remained on the beacon all day, and had their victualssent to them along with the smiths'. From Mr. Dove, the foremansmith, they had much sympathy, for he preferred remaining on thebeacon at all hazards, to be himself relieved from the malady ofsea-sickness. The wind continuing high, with a heavy sea, and thetide falling late, it was not judged proper to land the artificersthis evening, but in the twilight the boats were sent to fetch thepeople on board who had been left on the rock.

[Sunday, 29th May]

The wind was from the S.W. to-day, and the signal-bell rung, asusual, about an hour before the period for landing on the rock.The writer was rather surprised, however, to hear the landing-master repeatedly call, 'All hands for the rock!' and, coming ondeck, he was disappointed to find the seamen only in the boats.Upon inquiry, it appeared that some misunderstanding had takenplace about the wages of the artificers for Sundays. They hadpreferred wages for seven days statedly to the former mode ofallowing a day for each tide's work on Sunday, as they did not likethe appearance of working for double or even treble wages onSunday, and would rather have it understood that their work on thatday arose more from the urgency of the case than with a view toemolument. This having been judged creditable to their religiousfeelings, and readily adjusted to their wish, the boats proceededto the rock, and the work commenced at nine a.m.

[Monday, 30th May]

Mr. Francis Watt commenced, with five joiners, to fit up atemporary platform upon the beacon, about twenty-five feet abovethe highest part of the rock. This platform was to be used as thesite of the smith's forge, after the beacon should be fitted up asa barrack; and here also the mortar was to be mixed and preparedfor the building, and it was accordingly termed the Mortar Gallery.

The landing-master's crew completed the discharging from theSmeaton of her cargo of the cast-iron rails and timber. It mustnot here be omitted to notice that the Smeaton took in ballast fromthe Bell Rock, consisting of the shivers or chips of stone producedby the workmen in preparing the site of the building, which werenow accumulating in great quantities on the rock. These the boatsloaded, after discharging the iron. The object in carrying offthese chips, besides ballasting the vessel, was to get thempermanently out of the way, as they were apt to shift about fromplace to place with every gale of wind; and it often required aconsiderable time to clear the foundation a second time of thisrubbish. The circumstance of ballasting a ship at the Bell Rockafforded great entertainment, especially to the sailors; and it wasperhaps with truth remarked that the Smeaton was the first vesselthat had ever taken on board ballast at the Bell Rock. Mr. Pool,the commander of this vessel, afterwards acquainted the writerthat, when the ballast was landed upon the quay at Leith, manypersons carried away specimens of it, as part of a cargo from theBell Rock; when he added, that such was the interest excited, fromthe number of specimens carried away, that some of his friendssuggested that he should have sent the whole to the Cross ofEdinburgh, where each piece might have sold for a penny.

[Tuesday, 31st May]

In the evening the boats went to the rock, and brought the joinersand smiths, and their sickly companions, on board of the tender.These also brought with them two baskets full of fish, which theyhad caught at high-water from the beacon, reporting, at the sametime, to their comrades, that the fish were swimming in suchnumbers over the rock at high-water that it was completely hid fromtheir sight, and nothing seen but the movement of thousands offish. They were almost exclusively of the species called thepodlie, or young coal-fish. This discovery, made for the firsttime to-day by the workmen, was considered fortunate, as anadditional circumstance likely to produce an inclination among theartificers to take up their residence in the beacon, when it cameto be fitted up as a barrack.

[Tuesday, 7th June]

At three o'clock in the morning the ship's bell was rung as thesignal for landing at the rock. When the landing was to be madebefore breakfast, it was customary to give each of the artificersand seamen a dram and a biscuit, and coffee was prepared by thesteward for the cabins. Exactly at four o'clock the whole partylanded from three boats, including one of those belonging to thefloating light, with a part of that ship's crew, which alwaysattended the works in moderate weather. The landing-master's boat,called the Seaman, but more commonly called the Lifeboat, took thelead. The next boat, called the Mason, was generally steered bythe writer; while the floating light's boat, Pharos, was under themanagement of the boatswain of that ship.

Having now so considerable a party of workmen and sailors on therock, it may be proper here to notice how their labours weredirected. Preparations having been made last month for theerection of a second forge upon the beacon, the smiths commencedtheir operations both upon the lower and higher platforms. Theywere employed in sharpening the picks and irons for the masons, andin making bats and other apparatus of various descriptionsconnected with the fitting of the railways. The landing-master'screw were occupied in assisting the millwrights in laying therailways to hand. Sailors, of all other descriptions of men, arethe most accommodating in the use of their hands. They workedfreely with the boring-irons, and assisted in all the operations ofthe railways, acting by turns as boatmen, seamen, and artificers.We had no such character on the Bell Rock as the common labourer.All the operations of this department were cheerfully undertaken bythe seamen, who, both on the rock and on shipboard, were theinseparable companions of every work connected with the erection ofthe Bell Rock Lighthouse. It will naturally be supposed that abouttwenty-five masons, occupied with their picks in executing andpreparing the foundation of the lighthouse, in the course of a tideof about three hours, would make a considerable impression upon anarea even of forty-two feet in diameter. But in proportion as thefoundation was deepened, the rock was found to be much more hardand difficult to work, while the baling and pumping of water becamemuch more troublesome. A joiner was kept almost constantlyemployed in fitting the picks to their handles, which, as well asthe points to the irons, were very frequently broken.

The Bell Rock this morning presented by far the most busy andactive appearance it had exhibited since the erection of theprincipal beams of the beacon. The surface of the rock was crowdedwith men, the two forges flaming, the one above the other, upon the